China, U.S., Saudi Arabia among those who altered UN climate report

According to international negotiations prior to its release, China, the U.S., and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that have significantly altered a UN document that will shape global climate policy for years to come.

The report released this week was written by Earth Negotiations Bulletin, the only news organization allowed to observe proceedings when 195 nations gathered to approve a summary of climate science findings over the last five years. The document they were debating isn't vetted by country negotiators and isn't part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.

The IPCC report stressed that continuing to burn fossil fuels threatens human well-being and the stability of life on Earth, with the chance of the most severe impacts moving quickly out of reach. The most controversial conclusion was that greenhouse gas emissions have to be cut by 60% and carbon dioxide pollution must fall 65% by 2035 from 2019 levels for a 50% chance of the global temperature rising within 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. That is a goal that global leaders agreed on in the landmark Paris Agreement and what scientists say is needed to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

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